As I tucked in my granddaughter for the night, I made sure “Bobo,” her well-worn stuffed bunny, was nestled close to her and the favorite blanket wrapped gently around her. Just as I was ready to exit her bedroom, the requests for songs began. When I asked which one she wanted first, her response: “Grandma, sing the “light” song.

“This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine

This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine,

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.”

 This simple song reflects the instruction Jesus gave to us in his Sermon on the Mount: we are to be bright lights to this world. He said, . . . “let your light shine.” (Matt. 5:15)  Our lives are to be like a candle with a flame that illuminates the darkness. We are to be of lights of love, joy, kindness, goodness, compassion, and hope. We are to let the light of Christ who is in us to shine, and shine brightly.

But there is something we need to learn about the flame of a candle. The quality of the flame is determined by the condition of the wick. To have a flame that burns high and brightly, it needs to have a well-trimmed wick. The wick must have a tip that has been cut into a rounded or wedge-shaped point. And it needs to be trimmed this way on a regular basis.

Why? Because with a well-trimmed wick, the soot residue falls away from the wick and doesn’t touch the flame. But if the wick is left untrimmed, the soot residue collects on the wick causing the flame to be dull and smoky. The soot residue affects the brightness, the clarity, of the flame.

As Christians, we need the “wicks” of our lives to be well-trimmed. The “soot residue” of how we speak and how we act and react can cause our “flame” to become dull and smoky. Our lives will not be a “light” that shines brightly to those around us.

This is why Jesus sent us a Helper, the Holy Spirit. He is the One who makes us aware of what behaviors, attitudes and desires need to be trimmed so that “soot residue” doesn’t dim our light! As we allow the Holy Spirit to influence the choices we make, the decisions we embrace, He empowers us to replace anger with gentleness, animosity with kindness, vindictiveness with forgiveness, callousness with compassion. He can trim our “wick” of our will, so we desire and are empowered to make the choice to change our attitudes and actions that cause the light of Christ’s love in us to be dull and smoky.

Jesus said, “Let your light shine!” That’s not a suggestion, but a command. Especially in our world today, we must become bright lights of Christ’s love, joy, kindness and compassion to those around us.